I believe in reincarnation, as a Hindu we are taught that each life is an opportunity to learn God's lessons anew. The goal is not a flesh-happy heaven but Moksha, true enlightened state. The great gift of reincarnation and Karma is that it does away with God running a torture chamber, a la Saddam Husain. To think that God would run some sort of torture chamber and is supposedly teaching some lessons by causing physical pain is sickening, that is not a God but just a King.

[QUOTE=Solardust71;718548]Thanks for your reply, spiritalk. Personal choice is the most reasonable conclusion I can draw at this point...without direct knowledge one way or the other... although I'm leaning toward the concept as truth because how much can a soul learn in just one lifetime?? Makes sense that souls would make multiple "trips" so to speak, taking into consideration we have an "eternity" to explore different states of being..... just my thoughts. ;)[/QUOTE]

Your statement presupposes the earth plane as the ONLY learning ground. Consider....a spirit realm full of opportunity and challenge for learning and growing...spiritually.

This, then would confirm the statement....Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: We are not a human being having a spiritual experience. We are a spiritual being having a human experience.

[QUOTE=Solardust71;721326]>>So if a soul survives death (reincarnated or not) it follows that memories survive outside the body. Where? In some kind of ethereal field. The next question is where were these memories located before the body died? Was it in that field, or inside the person’s head? It would be reasonable to expect that they always existed in this field and were connected to the person’s body, or brain if you wish, in some manner that science has not discovered yet but may resemble something like a radio transmitter/receiver.<<

Jim,

Interesting ideas to ponder. I relate to the notion of an ethereal field where memories are located, at the same time the memories are carried over to the next phase, realm, whatever you'd like...and retained by the soul who experienced those memories as an incarnated individual... if that makes sense...[/QUOTE]

Do we need some 'place' for our memories when they are all a part of our mind and spirit? Some have used the 'theory' of Akashic records for this purpose. Mystical thought at best.

We are body, mind, spirit in the living of the earth plane. The purpose? Some believe it is to spiritualize the soul through our lessons on earth.

The purpose for life is spirituality at its finest. And spirituality does not end. Thereby can growth and continuity be a factor with the mind and spirit of the individualized soul in tact as it progresses into an unseen but real world....the afterlife, the spirit realms.

[QUOTE=Ladyofone;731008]Has anyone ever read anything on the many years of research Dr. Ian Stevensen has done almost exclusively with children? In some of the cases the new incarnate has identified and even had relationships with the family from their past life. They even have birthmarks that resemble the wounds they suffered from their previous life. I had never even thought about reincarnation at all until I read some of the conclusions of his studies. I think of all the books I have now read on reincarnation his work is the most convincing. That's just my take, I'm not sure what I believe, but it makes sense to me that we would have to keep evolving spiritually. I am of the opinion that the soul and the spirit are two different things, and I'm not clear what it is that reincarnates, but the Bible says the spirit returns to God. Any input????[/QUOTE]

Have you considered that all children are psychic and retain their memories of spirit realms and their connections to spirit entities as they start life in the earth world. These memories are often rejected and worked out of the child by peer pressures.

Birth marks are often the same from generation to generation in a family.

[QUOTE=Solardust71;731813]I'm not familiar with Dr. Stevensen's work but I have read studies by other researchers and some of their reported accounts were quite compelling. After to listening to some of the stories closely and adding in my own dose of logic, I concluded these people were authentically reporting other experiences ... how and why is the million-$ question. What's striking to me are the deep-rooted anxieties some of them were coping with and how those anxieties were traced all the way back to their claimed pre-existence via hypnosis... and the recalled traumatic circumstances that may have triggered those conditions....[/QUOTE]

Perhaps they walk too closely with the spirit influences that affect the body, mind, and spirit? We have spirit guidance around and about us all the time. How we are open to it and how it affects us is often a question of our interpretation of the messages we read of others' researches.

[QUOTE=Original angel;766783]purpose, reasons is existence meaningless, are we so lost that we can't contemplate the idea and if do what do we come up with?the old master from the east and the west as well contemplate the above and came with some tentative answers, and from that the Idea of games , conditions spring up where some try to decipher what kind of game life is playing and attempt to win. and the issue here is that we are that life and we hold here now the top of lather of what life is is there a doubt about that? if so lets debated and clarify it. please.

J: I am sorry I don't understand the question? If you would care to elaborate?

we talk loosely about centers, chakras and agree generally that the lower ones stop the higher ones from functioning at a optimum level. the issue has being what can we do to correct that.

J: Chakras (another Eastern idea) are a paranormal type of existence. There is no scientific proof that a tunnel exists beside your spine through which energies flow. The studies and understanding of this particular idea could possibly be lost in the eastern philosophies.

And if the chakras are real consider....the openings are located all along the major organ system - the endocrine system - and what damage added energies could cause.

many go in to healing, correct the flows do nifty tricks like our doctor with depression take this pill and it will be OK.

reincarnation is a fact to me and other as well. and I accept that I'm a spiritual being and I try to the best of my abilities to understand my self as well as what are we doing here.

J: Just because a 'theory' is old, written in ancient text, and perpetrated with as many changes as ideas over the years allows, is not proof of its existence. Like all theories it comes with rational thought and some people see it as not progressive. As a matter of interest there was a survey conducted in the US in which 65% were against this theory and only 35% for it. Do the numbers win?

and is all of this is important if it lead us to know if it lead us to more belief we repeat the same thing which we have done in the past we just change jackets, dresses but we do not know and because we do not change from with in. and that is what need to happen if we are going to go where we truly desire.

J: I agree no one learns all their lessons in one earth life. But to suppose it is the only learning ground is a bit arrogant. The spirit realms are progressive. And continually returning is like coming back to kindergarten over and over and never graduating to higher lessons. What are we learning when we constantly go back to the beginning and don't bring memory of our past?

I'm not a dictator I like the idea of all of us contributing to this field in the hope that the individual learn how to know it self.can we talk more about this please.?original angel[/QUOTE]

J: I hope I have understood your comments - and would be happy to discuss at any time.